Saturday, September 10, 2011

Continuing my trend of writing about sequels to games that I have not played, today's pairing features BioWare's Mass Effect 2. BioWare has been responsible for some of my favorite video games of all time, particularly the Baldur's Gate series. Mass Effect 2 is a sci-fi-themed action-RPG. In the role of Commander Shephard, the game has you fly around the universe recruiting party members for a dangerous assault on a group of aliens that threatens to destroy all organic life.

Mass Effect 2 is one of the best games I have played in a long time, and possibly the most engrossing RPG I've played since Final Fantasy VII. I wanted to find a good pairing for it. Sci-fi games always give me trouble when it comes to figuring out a good booze to drink with them. In the past, I had success drinking a Penedes white wine while playing as the Protoss in Starcraft II. One of my earliest experiments for this blog was to pair Mega Man 2 with a German Riesling Kabinett. This also worked well. Keeping this in mind, I decided to try drinking a rosé with Mass Effect 2. In the game, you can actually go to the bar in your ship's lounge and pour yourself glasses of pink liquid. I took this as a good sign that my pairing would work well.But why pair a game with one booze when you can pair it with three? My good buddies Nathan and Paul joined me, each bringing a rosé of their own. I supplied a 2010 Muga Rosado, Nathan brought a 2008 Castillo de Jumilla Monastrell Rosado, and Paul submitted a 2010 Les Acanthes Tavel Rosé. The Muga is a pale salmon. It tastes of tart cherry and strawberry, with some floral notes on the nose. It possesses a shimmering acidity that drives a nice, stoney finish. The Jumilla and Tavel are both a bit darker and bolder. The Jumilla smells of raspberries and tastes of cherry and prune. It is a bit juicier and chalkier than the Muga. The Tavel is the sweetest of the three, though it has a reasonably dry finish. With more body and less acidity, it contains pleasant notes of strawberry jam.I would enjoy playing Mass Effect 2 with any booze known to man. Pink wines made for a particularly good accompaniment, as I can drink them for several hours without severely damaging either my intellect or my motor skills. And after drinking enough of them in the presence of my friends who share my adolescent sensibilities, the wines helped me to remember the true goal of Mass Effect 2: Trying to score with sexy aliens.